CAB Media, Regina, KY (2026)

01/20/2020

These cuties made my day!

01/20/2020

So adorable!

01/15/2020

HONEY, THE PERFECT MOISTURIZING, DEEP-CLEANSING, NATURAL SKIN BEAUTIFIER

If you've been following recent advances in skin care, you know that honey isn't just for biscuits anymore. We've always known that it was a great natural sweetener with natural antioxidants, but now we now that applied topically, it can help moisturize and nourish the skin—even provide anti-aging benefits.

a little bit about the ingredient itself
A sweet, sugary solution made by bees, honey is made up of fructose, glucose, water, oil, and special enzymes. Raw honey, in particular, which isn't filtered, strained, or heated above natural hive temperatures, is particularly rich in B vitamins, vitamin C, and minerals like magnesium, potassium, and calcium. It also contains proteins, fats, amino acids, and bioflavonoids.

As opposed to regular sugar, honey's combination of glucose and fructose delivers immediate as well as long-term energy—making it a better sweetener for diabetic patients. In addition to being a natural energy-booster, honey has been found in research to improve symptoms of upper respiratory tract infections in children and teens. Scientists have also found that Manuka honey is great at killing the antibiotic-resistant bacterium Staph aureus.

Honey also seems to contain friendly bacteria, similar to yogurt, which may explain why many people use it to aid digestion and ease stomach discomforts.

honey's benefits to the skin
When it comes to skin care, however, honey really shines. Because of its ability to hold onto water, it makes a potent moisturizer, as it hydrates without creating an oily feel. Antioxidants protect the skin from environmental stressors, while its natural properties can help those with sensitive skin. It's also great for oily skin, helping to keep pores clean and reducing oiliness.

In addition to all this, honey also contains gluconic acid, a mild alpha hydroxy acid that gently exfoliates and gives a brighter look to the tone of your skin. Regular use can help to reduce the appearance of age spots.

honey in skin masks
Honey is especially beneficial in skin masks that you leave on your face for 10–20 minutes. As you sit back and relax, the natural components go to work cleaning out pores, hydrating your skin, reducing the appearance of fine lines, imparting protective antioxidants, and delivering nutrients way down deep—all without a bit of irritation. Just try it and you'll see what we mean. Start with my Ayurvedic Facial Scrub, then apply the Coconut Honey Mask, and see if you don't feel about ten years younger.

01/11/2020

3 SKIN CARE HERBS YOU CAN GROW INDOORS

Before I moved to Oakland, California, I had never grown anything in a pot. I was afraid I wasn’t going to do it right and that all my plants would die. I’m very sensitive to the life cycles of plants and it makes me dramatic about my plant friends, but I love them so much I thought I would try anyway and see what I could do.

It didn’t take me long to figure out that you can grow almost anything in a pot if you spend enough time willing it to live, giving it the right amount of water (it is possible to give too much), and repotting it when it fills the little containers. My landlord was thrilled when she found out how many plants I had growing on my porch (ha ha, not). Here’s a photo of about a quarter of my first Oakland apothecary garden:

Aubrey's Garden - Skin Care Herbs
I have since moved and most of these friends are in the ground, but I’m a huge advocate for growing things in whatever space you have. It doesn’t take a green thumb—just love, dirt, and water, really. Research your plants to see what they need and pay close attention to what they might be telling you.

With that in mind, here are three awesome skin care herbs you can grow right out on your porch, in your windowsill, on your kitchen floor, or on your bedside table—anywhere and everywhere that gets the right light for your plants.

1. pot marigold (calendula officinalis)
This is my number one go-to for all things skin related. Shakespeare said, “Marigold goes to bed with the sun and with him rises, weeping.”

Traditionally, calendula was used for grief, positive communication, and it is an ultimate beautifier.

Calendula is super easy to grow. She LOVES the sun and isn’t too picky about her soil. The more you pick calendula’s flowers, the more she will give. If you’re only halfway through the season and she’s not giving you all the flowers you expected, cut her back a lot and she will start producing all over again! She is an annual plant, but she self seeds like crazy if you leave a flower on, so you need only one plant to create a garden full of them.

If I want to take calendula internally, I walk outside, grab a flower, and eat it. YUM! I also love calendula in tea. You don’t need to make a tincture of calendula—she does perfectly well for us as she is—but a tincture is a great way to preserve her through the winter time.

Externally, I make calendula into an oil to use on everything. Don't worry, I've got a recipe for ya!

DIY: HOW TO MAKE CALENDULA-INFUSED OIL

Step one: Get a cup of organic oil that you like to work with (I like grapeseed or kukui nut, a light oil) and about an ounce of dry calendula flowers. Mix together in a jar.

Step two: Let the jar sit in the dark for 2-4 weeks. Shake it daily.

Step three: Strain out the flowers.

Voila! You have an oil you can use to make salves or boluses, or to apply to your skin.

2. comfrey (symphytum officinalis)
Comfrey leaves were once used in luggage and in the shoes of travelers to ensure safe journeys. It's a great skin herb as well. It isn’t an herb to take lightly, and very infrequently should one take it internally.

MORE TOPICAL USES FOR COMFREY:

Put some strong comfrey tea in your shampoo.
To get your body ready for childbirth, use a homemade comfrey oil on your belly.
Make your own serum by soaking comfrey leaves in aloe vera juice for a couple of weeks. (Use the same recipe as the calendula oil above, but substitute the oil for aloe-vera juice and the calendula for comfrey.)
You can grow this friend in any type of soil and any type of light, though it prefers rich, loamy soil and full sunlight. I would suggest putting it in a gallon pot, and re-potting it each year if you want it to get really big. It grows really well if you plant it with a piece of a root, but you can certainly grow it from seed. If you plant it in the ground it WILL take over your space if you let it.

3. chickw**d (stellaria media)
You might laugh at this because you probably pull this friend out of your garden several times a year. Indeed it is often a volunteer in places we don’t want to see it, but next time you find chickw**d growing in your garden, don’t be frustrated—be excited! Collect the seeds and put them in a pot with some rich soil. Water it a little bit each day. It will grow like… okay… a w**d.

This friend is absolutely fantastic for skin woes!.You can make an oil with it or use it as a poultice. I would totally add it to my bath water if I needed it.

Chickw**d is also edible! Eat it raw or cooked like you would with any salad green, or juice it for a delicious drink that is high in vitamin C and contains lots of minerals! For more iron, add chickw**d to your diet.

want a couple more skin care herbs?
Growing Arnica might be fun, but it needs a frost to germinate and loves high altitudes. If you’re in one of the mountainous states, try growing it and PLEASE let me know how it goes. You don’t want to take this guy internally without chatting with an herbalist about it, but using it as a poultice or an oil on the skin is amazing.

Lavender is wonderful for the skin! It’s super gentle. It can be used everyday and with babies, too! As you can see from my photo above, it does okay in a pot for the first couple of years. Make sure not to overwater it, though, and keep it in the sunshine. Cut it back when it flowers and cut it down to the woody parts at the end of the season.

Aloe grows like crazy in pots. I’ve given several of my mama aloe’s pups away to ASC Team Members and one of them lives here in the office! It grows happiest inside with filtered light or outside in places where it gets dappled sunlight. Don’t water too much or too little. It will tell you if you watch it enough. Use it to soothe and hydrate.

01/09/2020

6 DIY BEAUTY RECIPES FOR YOUR FACE, HAIR, AND BODY

What is beauty? Science tells us that beauty is a function of our ancient instincts giving us some insight about the health of a person and whether they would be a good genetic match for our own genes to further our species. National Geographic tells us, “studies suggest attractive people make more money, get called on more often in class, receive lighter court sentences, and are perceived as friendlier.” That’s right. We’re a bunch of cover-judgers. We just can’t help it.

With or without the science, “beauty” is a booming industry. It doesn’t come cheap and it’s easy to get swept up in the “buy more to be more” mentality. As you organic beauties know, most of the products out there have chemicals in them and even though those chemicals might help maintain the phenotype of beauty, they certainly don’t help keep your body healthy and strong.

Because we think that beauty is a side-effect of eating well, taking care of our bodies, and taking care of our skin, I’d like to share some inexpensive ways to feel healthy and beautiful.

for your face
HERBAL FACE STEAMS

Let’s start with the easiest beauty trick out there—and my favorite. Herbal steams are such a good way for your body to receive herbal love. They help hydrate your skin and release impurities.

Just put a few drops of essential oil or a couple of tablespoons of your herbs into a pot of water and let it simmer on the stove. Get a big towel and drape it over your head and the pot of water so that the towel traps the steam from the pot. Take deep breaths of the steam. That’s it! Easy, right? And, because your skin is hydrated and your pores are open, your skin will readily accept your skin care routine. So following up with a hydrating serum or moisturizing oil is a good idea.

There are lots of different herbs you can use in your steam. For an easy, all purpose steam that feels good and smells amazing, herbs like rose, lavender, and rosemary are perfect.

FACIAL MASKS

We have talked about face masks before, but I’ll give you another recipe that's a cheap and easy way to keep your face beautiful.

Facial Mask for Normal or Dry Skin:

¼ an avocado
1 spoonful of plain greek yogurt or kefir
Mix it up and slather it on. Leave it for 15 minutes. Wipe or rinse it off and continue with your routine.

Facial Mask for Oily Skin:

Juice from ¼ a lemon
1 spoonful of raw honey, softened
Mix it together and spread it evenly on your face. Leave for about 15-20 minutes and make sure to wipe or rinse it all off when you’re finished.

for your hair
The best piece of advice I can give you to growing luscious locks is to make sure that your body gets the vitamin A and the protein that it needs (there’s that health piece). Your hair, skin and nails are made of keratin, which is a tough form of protein made in your body. What you ingest has a huge impact on your production of keratin.

HAIR RINSES

An apple cider vinegar rinse once a week after shampoo and conditioning is great for balancing the acid mantle of the scalp and removing any leftover soap that may be trapped there.

For one rinse:

½ cup water
½ cup apple cider vinegar
Just pour the mixture over your whole head, massage it into your scalp and let it dry.

I like to add herbal teas that help with the color, for a mixture that's half apple cider vinegar and half tea. I’m fair-haired so I like adding chamomile tea to the rinse. For dark hair, adding a decoction of walnut husk to to the ACV will keep it shiny and nice. Don’t worry, the vinegar smell will dissipate after your hair dries.

Note for you darker-haired honeys: use a dark colored towel because the walnut may stain a lighter color towel.

For herbal hair rinse ideas, see this blog post.

THE BEST LOVE IS FREE LOVE

The best thing that I have found for the hair is free! Give yourself a scalp massage and finger-comb your hair!

I like to stand outside with my head upside down (it’s a little silly looking but it feels awesome) and run clean fingers through my hair. Your hands are a lot different than a hairbrush because they are porous and thus they are the best at stimulating and distributing your hair’s natural oils.

Plus. the extra oils and hairs can easily be removed from your hands, so you don’t have to worry about the build up on the brush. This is really helpful for split ends, dandruff and for keeping your hair healthy and growing long.

for your body
BATHS

I hope you have a bathtub because they can be SO healing for the skin and they're not all that expensive. You'll want to have a tub strainer because you don't want all these herbs going down your drain. It’s not important to measure this out perfectly, but it is important to have fun with it! Here's my favorite herbal bath, you don’t need all of these herbs or salts, any mixture of herbal love is great:

Herbal Bath Recipe

A cup or two of oatmeal – organic rolled oats are wonderful!
2+ cups of good salt – I use Dead Sea salt and Himalayan pink salt but epsom salt or any good salt you have works great
A couple tablespoons of baking soda
1 heaping teaspoon of coconut oil
Herbs like rose, lavender, kava, skullcap, yarrow and rue are great to add to the bath. The best way to add them is to put them into a little teabag or a sack, but I like to add handfuls of herbs straight to my water and then strain it out when I’m finished.
FOOT SOAKS

We have nerve endings in our feet that relate to different parts of our whole body, it’s important to take good care of our hooves so that we can feel great and be beautiful.

It’s like a small scale bath recipe that you can make on your stove and enjoy anywhere in your house – I love to do a foot soak while I’m doing dishes! Just keep your feet in it for at least a half hour (I like it better for an hour):

Herbal Foot Soak Recipe

1/2 cup of good salt
A couple teaspoons of baking soda
A heaping teaspoon of coconut oil
Herbs like rose, lavender, kava, skullcap, yarrow, and tea tree are great!
Pro tip: Do a face steam with your pot of water while you’re making your foot soak. Add in a mask while you’re sitting with your feet in a soak and turn it into a special night. ??

01/06/2020

GOJI BERRY FOR SKIN, THE LONG-LIVED ANTI-AGING FRUIT

Goji Berry
Legend has it that Buddhist monks discovered goji berries hundreds of years ago when they were roaming the Tibetan mountains. The ones who found them first and ate them, and those who later incorporated them into their daily diet, supposedly lived longer than those who didn't.

Goji berries have since had a reputation for delaying mortality. We don't have any reputable studies saying they actually work, but we do know that berries are antioxidant powerhouses and are full of nutrients, amino acids, carotenoids, and polysaccharides that make this ingredient a no-brainer for anti-aging skin formulas.

This ancient Ayurvedic remedy may help fade your age spots.

A little bit about the ingredient itself
The goji berry plant is also known as the “wolfberry” plant, and is a woody shrub native to Asia, particularly China. Botanically called “Lycium barbarum,” the plant species is in the same family as the potato, tomato, eggplant, nightshade and to***co. They prefer well-drained soil of moderate quality, and have an extensive root system that resists drought conditions once established. They like full sun.

Leaves are egg-like, with blunted or round tips. The flowers grow in groups of one to three, are trumpet-shaped, purple or white, and bloom from June through September. Fruits are bright orange-red, elliptical-shaped berries that have anywhere between 10-60 tiny yellow seeds inside. They ripen July and October, but as they spoil easily, they have to be harvested very carefully. They're said to have a sweet and slightly tart flavor—a combination of cranberries and cherries—and are often preferred dried and cooked.

Internal health benefits of goji berries
The goji berry's reputed ability to help preserve long life was recorded in China's first herbal encyclopedia, “Shen Nong's Materia Medica,” written in the first century B.C. The goji was classified as a “superior tonic,” in a class of herbs that people should take on an ongoing basis to preserve youth and promote general well being of life.

Goji was also used to strengthen the liver, purify the blood, protect healthy vision, and revitalize energy. More recent research has found that the berries are high in antioxidants, which can boost the immune system and help protect from illnesses like heart disease. They're also rich in vitamin A, which are known to help maintain healthy vision.

Some laboratory studies have shown that the antioxidants in goji may reduce blood sugar levels, and lower bad cholesterol. More studies are needed, but the research so far shows promise with goji berries for potential diabetes and heart disease treatments or prevention.

Note: Goji berries have some anti-coagulant properties, so it may be best not to combine them with blood-thinning drugs.

goji's benefits to the skin
The most exciting benefit from goji berries is its anti-aging potential. Here are some of the reasons why scientists have found this fruit to be important for maintaining healthy, youthful skin:

Minerals: Goji berries contain 11 of the 22 essential dietary trace minerals, including calcium, potassium, iron, zinc, and selenium. Though each has different action, they all can help firm, tighten and plump the appearance of your skin.
Amino Acids: Amino acids, at their essence can help smooth the look of your skin, and improve tone and color. They also help improve skin hydration. Best of all, they're non-irritating.
Vitamin C: Goji berries contain a high amount of vitamin C, which is known to support firming and tightening and protect the skin from environmental stressors. It's also been shown to help reduce the appearance of age spots.
Carotenoids: These are flavonoids like beta-carotene, zeaxanthin, lutein, lycopene, crytoxanthin, and xanthophyll. These protect and are known to help maintain a healthy glow in the skin.
Polysaccharides: These components have antioxidant properties, firm and tighten and increase hydration.
try it!
Add all these properties together and you have a powerful anti-aging ingredient that works on a number of different levels. This is a great example of why we like using natural ingredients. Most synthetic and chemical ingredients provide one or two benefits at most. Natural ingredients, on the other hand, deliver several benefits all at once, and because they're presented in their natural form, tend to work better with the body's own systems so you see faster and longer-lasting results.

01/04/2020

THE BEST NATURAL MOISTURIZER FOR DRY SKIN

One of the things that sets us apart from other skin care companies is our focus on continual training and renewing our knowledge. We don't just spend our time creating and selling products, we also think it's really important to teach and share what we've learned about skin with you so that you know why we choose to make the products the way we do and so that when you start to recognize signs like dryness and dehydration, you know exactly what to do.

Maybe you've been working with dry skin for a while, or maybe it's a new issue. As always, it's best to start from the beginning—learn about why you're experiencing dry skin so that you can choose the best moisturizer for your dry skin.

what is sebum?
Simply put, sebum is the natural moisturizer that our bodies create to protect the skin and hair from external pathogens and water loss.
Sebum is produced in the sebaceous glands, which are found everywhere on the human body except the palms of our hands and the soles of our feet, and is excreted to the surface of the skin to help create the barrier and keep our skin nice and smooth.
For the most part, sebum is made of fatty acids, wax esters, and cholesterols but just like how everyone’s skin is unique, the chemical makeup of everyone’s sebum is different and that means the oily-dry balance is different for everyone too.
If you’ve ever had oily skin, or you know people that seem to have a constant shine on their forehead, your skin may have been overproducing sebum. If you have dry, flaky skin, you may not be producing enough.

SEBUM OVER A LIFETIME

Sebum levels within our bodies are largely affected by hormone levels. That’s why teens, with their big hormone changes and surges, tend towards oily skin and clogged pores. It’s also why people under constant stress tend to have more breakouts and why women can have different skin issues throughout the month.

As we age, and this is especially true for women, our bodies move towards less natural hormone production. With fewer hormones in our bodies, it’s common for our sebaceous glands to be less active and we produce less sebum. This leaves our skin unprotected from environmental damage, water loss, and it can exacerbate the signs of aging.

why moisturize?
The ultimate point of a moisturizer is to mimic balanced sebum production to keep the skin protected, moisturized, and hydrated—of course, the beauty that comes with dewy, fresh skin is also wonderful.
Since an important function of sebum (as well as hyaluronic acid) is to hold water in the skin, if you’re experiencing dry skin there’s also a pretty good chance that you’re experiencing dehydrated skin. The difference between dehydration and dryness is subtle but impactful because if you’re suffering from dehydration, it means that there isn’t enough water to plump up your skin cells so that they can absorb the oil that you’re applying! You want to hydrate and then add your moisturizer to make sure that you’re giving your skin what it needs, keep it supple and in healthy condition.

That beautiful skin you’re after is actually an evolutionary sign of good health and genes (most vanity is) and since choosing the right face moisturizer increases the health of your skin, reduces the signs of aging, and helps you feel beautiful, it’s really important that you don’t skip moisturizing if you have dry skin.

CHOOSING BETWEEN OIL AND CREAM/LOTION

We wanted to include a little bit about the difference between an oil and a moisturizing face cream because we get this question all of the time. Yes, they are both moisturizers but we elect to work with carrier oils rather than cream products because a cream is typically made with an emulsification of oil and water.

You’re probably thinking, “but oil and water don’t mix,” and that’s precisely right. In order to create a lotion, there has to be an additional ingredient, like a wax, mixed in. Since the wax has to be melted to mix well, lotions are often made at very high temperatures, the kind of temperature that can kill the antioxidant activity and leave it less effective overall.

Additionally, water is life. There’s just no better way to say it. So when water comes into contact with the fats and acids in oils, they can grow mold and go rancid pretty quickly. Most companies add preservatives to their cream products to kill off those molds and enhance their shelf life and since there is very little regulation in the cosmetic industry, these preservatives go largely untested for quality and safety of use overtime.

That being said, there are great companies out there using organic ingredients and keeping their products clean that make lotions (like our Radiant Skin Silk) and this essentially boils down to texture preference and what your skin likes. If you love the feeling of a cream over and oil for your moisturizer, go for it! Just be sure to check in with the companies that you work with for some clarity around how they make their products and what the ingredients are in your favorite products.

the right carrier oil for dry skin
There are a lot of options for the carrier oils that you use as a moisturizer—I bet if you walk into your kitchen right now you could probably find at least two or three—but you want to choose the right one, or maybe even the right blend. It’s important to know what your skin is needing and since everyone’s sebum has a different chemical makeup, it may take a bit of trial and error. Here are three tried and true carrier oils that are great for dry skin.

JOJOBA

Jojoba oil is actually made up of fats and wax esters so it is texturally similar to our skin’s natural oil. This type of oil is great for dry, flaky skin because the rich texture of the oil doesn’t immediately soak in so it’s really soothing to the top layers of the skin and it's high in antioxidants so when it does soak in, it's helpful in combatting environmental stressors.
We use it as a base in the Anti-Aging Facial Oil to add a bit of extra protection and rejuvenation to the facial oil.

AVOCADO

This isn’t as thick as the jojoba so it’s less likely to sit on top of the skin. Because it penetrates so nicely, it helps to hold in hydration and is great for skin that needs a moisture boost deep within. Avocado is high in omega fatty acids, which are the building blocks of healthy cell membranes, and offers an amazing boost of healthy vitamin E.

SHEA BUTTER

Super moisturizing and very creamy, shea butter is perfect for dry skin—especially if you’re love the creaminess of lotions but don’t want to put the preservatives typically found in them on the skin. It's a great option for those of you working with sensitive skin (and for baby skin!) because, in its pure form, the smooth texture and rich vitamin content make it the most gentle natural moisturizer available.

Sometimes shea butter is a little hard and can be tough to work with, so you might try melting it a little and blending in a little bit of pure avocado or grapeseed oil to make it go on a little smoother.

12/30/2019

These Things Would Make You Want To Spend A Vietnam Travel In Da Nang
Have you heard of the newest attraction in Da Nang? It is the Golden Bridge built by French colonists in 1919. It is famous for its appearance where two giant hand stones seem to lift the bridge. When you pay a visit, you will be stunned with the picturesque view of the Ba Na Hills, as if you are walking on the clouds. What else can you expect from a travel in Da Nang? Continue reading below to find out!
The names that come into our mind when we think about places to visit in Vietnam would probably be the busy city of Ho Chi Minh or the stunning Ha Long Bay. However, there is a place located in the central part of Vietnam that is often overlooked by many. Nevertheless, it deserves to be in your itinerary as it is rich in cultural attractions and even UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
MARBLE MOUNTAINS
Seven kilometers away from the city lie the Marble Mountains, one of the must visit places when you travel in Da Nang. This group of Marble and Limestone mountains consists of different caves, tunnels, and Buddhist shrines you can explore.
On the other hand, you can also hike up to the summit of one of the mountains and be amazed by the mesmerizing view that awaits you.
HAI VAN PASS
Who’s up for an extreme kind of road trip? If you are, then experiencing one in Hai Van Pass is a must! This has become one of the places included in the bucket list of motorcycle riders and adventurers.
As you drive along the curves and bends of the road, you are rewarded with an incredible ocean view you will ever see in Vietnam. Also, it became famous as it was featured in a TV Program, Top Gear in 2008.
FOOD JOURNEY IN DA NANG
A travel in Da Nang wouldn’t be definitely complete without trying out its local cuisine! There are numerous places to eat in Da Nang that offer a wide range of cheap food. Also, since it is close to coastal areas, the seafood being served in most restaurants are guaranteed fresh!
One more thing is, their street food scene shouldn’t be missed as well! Just a tip! Try out Banh Xeo (Fried Pancake) and Mi Quang (Quang Style noodles), which are just some of the famous dishes Da Nang can offer you.
PEOPLE IN DA NANG
What makes a trip easy and worthwhile? The locals! Well, this isn’t a problem in Da Nang because people here are very friendly and helpful towards any kind of tourists – locals or foreign. So, never hesitate when you’ve got some questions or help especially about directions because they will willingly assist you with a smile.

CAB Media

01/20/2020

01/20/2020

01/15/2020

01/11/2020

01/09/2020

01/06/2020

01/04/2020

12/30/2019

Address

Telephone

Website

Alerts

Shortcuts

Share

Category